Not An Excuse, Just The Facts

I have been here a lot less than I would have liked.  Life is a bit crazy right now, and unfortunately I don't see a break in the very near future.  It isn't all bad though....let me explain.  I found a new place for Zach and I to  live.  It is within my budget and more importantly right in the school district where we were hoping to be.  I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have this piece of the puzzle solved without worrying whether or not we could get him a transfer...Hallelujah!

The new place is a duplex.  Our portion is on the corner, so we have a little yard in the front and side.  Best part about it, the landlord maintains it!!!!  There are only two bedrooms so that means no scraproom...I am REALLY sad about this, but I am going to do my best to create a little scrap corner with a little desk and hopefully some storage...yes, Ikea Expedit I am talking to you!  There is a TWO CAR GARAGE!!!!  Can't tell you how excited I am about that detail.  I rent a garage where I am now, and it is nice to be able to protect my car from the weather, but it is detached so it is across the lot from our place.

The packing has begun, but with that being said in a small apartment it doesn't take much for the place to look out of control.  Trust me, it is approaching that point and FAST!  If you don't believe me, take a look...

Boxes and messes everywhere!

Blank walls are appearing everywhere....I HATE blank walls

A virtually empty bookshelf, more boxes..complete with a Jack photo bomb!

 As of Friday, I will have two rent payments.  The new landlord would only hold the duplex until March 1st and my lease is not up until April 28th.  There were not a lot of places in this zip code that were in my budget and nice and after talking with my mom we decided to jump on the duplex....too good to pass up!  The huge plus side to this is that I can take my time to move.  I am hoping by the end of next weekend that everything that I have packed so far will be over at the new place.  By the time I am ready for the movers to get the big stuff, I am hoping that the majority of the stuff will already be over there.  So like I said, for the next eight weeks my weekends are going to be filled with packing and trips back and forth across town.

I also almost forgot to mention that as of March 8th, I will be the only support person in my department at work.  HOLY MOLY!!!!  Definitely some OT potential, but also pretty crazy "I am going to lose my mind" potential.  It is just the start to our busy season and it runs through June.  I am going to do my best to keep my chin up and keep a good attitude, but honestly - I am kind of freaking out.  There is a lot on my plate!

On a crafty note...I was determined to get my Chicago scrapbook done before I had to pack my scrap stuff up and with the exception of not knowing what to put in that little pocket on the front cover - I AM DONE!!!  One down and three to go for 2013.  Here is a peek at the cover page...

I know I have shared quite a bit of the album already, but I am hoping to take pictures of the whole thing and get it posted sometime this coming week.  I hope that you all will bare with me as I may be absent more than I am here in the next couple of months.  However, the only part of my scrapping stuff that is not going into a box is....DRUMROLL, PLEASE.....Project Life.  I have a sneaky suspicion that it may FINALLY make it's debut.  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

It's Been 2 Years & In Focus Friday: February 2013

Happy Friday!  I don't know about you guys, but I am so ready for the weekend.  Since last year I completely forgot this date, I thought that this time around, I should at least make mention....it is my Two Year Blogiversary!!!  I cannot believe that two years have passed since I bit the bullet and decided to give this blogging thing a try.  I am not, nor will I probably ever be a super consistent blogger.....I have great weeks and some not so great weeks.  But do I love it.....most definitely and more than that I love the connections that I have made.  I feel so blessed to have "met" some of the most amazing women!  Thank you to each and every one of you that take time out of you day to stop by and visit and/or comment...it truly means the world to me!

With less than a week to go in February, it is time for:

Kaeley is a proud new aunt and I am gathering, the official hospital photographer.  I am sure that it is wonderful to have a great photographer in the family!  In case you are in need if a Friday newborn fix, you have come to the right place.  Kaeley did a great job of capturing some special moments of Easton's birth day. 

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for." - Anonymous

Blessings.  Babies are complete blessings.  I had the pleasure this week of spending time with my family at a local hospital, awaiting the arrival of the newest little man.  My sister-in-law, and best friend, has been waiting for this day for a long time.  I couldn't have been more thrilled to be able to be there to support her.

My nieces were all excited to meet their new cousin - well the oldest and youngest ones were at least!  Taryn, the middle child, wasn't too interested in the new baby.  They did just about as good as could be expected while waiting.

Little Mr. made his appearance just before 6 o'clock - a healthy 8 lb 4 oz baby boy!

Hospital rooms are quite a challenge to get good pictures - especially at night.  This one had fairly decent light, but it was still work.  I can't begin to explain how excited I was to photograph his first hours . . . including his first bath!

Unfortunately, his daddy didn't make it to the hospital before he arrived, but he was there before too long.

I cannot wait to share more pictures of my newest love - and get lots of snuggles in (when Nana isn't hogging him!).

Yep, the photographer snuck one in of herself!

"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on" - Carl Sandburg

Thank you, Kaeley for sharing your sweet little nephew....boys really are the best! : )

Third Thursday Scrapbook Stories: February 2013

It's that time again......Third Thursday Scrapbook Stories with Katie!  Just like someone else I know, Katie is about to be up to her ears in moving boxes.  Whereas I will just be going across town, Katie and her fiance AJ are making a huge move from Chicago to Baton Rouge, LA.  What an adventure!  I am thrilled that she is going to be closer to Texas....still a long drive, but much better.  Katie and I WILL meet eventually...I just know it!  She hasn't had much time to scrap lately, but she did go back through some of her completed albums and shared some of her favorite layouts....how much fun is that!!!!

Hi everyone!

I can't believe that it is already the end of the month! I feel like I say that every month...lately time is just flying by!

Recently, Julie mentioned matting photos in layouts. Which lead to a discussion about how we both used to, but we don't anymore (or at least, not as often!)

And it got me thinking about how my style has changed over the years.

Most of my "old" scrapbooks are still home in New York. But I did have ones from 2008-2012 here in Chicago. Of course, I pulled them all out and went for a little trip down memory lane!

I pulled 4 layouts. One from each of the books I have here in Chicago to share with you guys today!

This layout is from 2008 (when I was still in college...wow!) My family went to visit Acadia National Park in Maine. I was so proud of myself for using the map of the park on the page!

This 2010 layout was actually the first one I ever shared on my blog! I loved the patterned paper and how it looked like a mish mash of other patterned papers. At this point, I was super uncomfortable mixing patterns myself. I usually just used patterned paper as a base, then put my pictures on top.

Ah! More patterned paper. This time, I combined it all myself. This layout is from 2011. I love that I started journaling more.

I know you guys have seen this one already, but it is my favorite 2012 layout. The patterns, the washi tape. All of the photos! I just love it!

After looking at all of these, I realized I love patterned paper and lots of pictures on my layouts. I'm also really glad that I've started journaling more, I wish I had journaled on my old pages more, it would have been fun to read what I may have written!

Do you ever go back through your old layouts? How has your style evolved, and what has stayed the same?

I hope you enjoyed seeing Katie's layouts....I know that I did.  I love how everyone has their own distinct style.  Katie and I's styles are similar in that we don't go overboard on embellishments and we love to use lots of pictures on our pages.  That is probably what drew me to Katie's layouts in the first place.  Great minds DO think alike!  In between packing boxes this weekend, I hope to put the finishing touches on my Chicago scrapbook and possibly get the whole thing posted  next week.  We will see how that goes...I have a few simple embellishments on a couple of pages as well as the cover page and that is it!